UNITED NATIONS, January 5, 2026 — Russia has accused the United States of committing “armed aggression” against Venezuela and called for the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his spouse, who Moscow claims are being held in New York following a U.S. military operation in Caracas.

Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing, Russian Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia denounced the assault as a “crime cynically perpetrated” in violation of international law. He warned that the attack, which reportedly left dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban citizens dead, signaled a return to “lawlessness and U.S. domination by force, chaos and injustice.”

Nebenzia urged Washington to resolve its disputes with Caracas through dialogue, citing the UN Charter, and accused the U.S. of pursuing hegemonic ambitions in Latin America. “The true objectives of this criminal operation are unlimited control over Venezuela’s natural resources and the assertion of imperial ambitions,” he said.

Russia expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and support for the Bolivarian government’s defense of national sovereignty. Nebenzia noted that Washington’s actions had already been condemned by the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, and other multilateral groups.

He warned that the crisis posed a broader threat to international law and the credibility of the UN itself. “The bell now tolls across the region, ringing for every country of the Western Hemisphere,” Nebenzia declared. “Failing to hear this today is tantamount to showing cowardice and blessing further encroachments on international law.”

The Russian envoy urged the international community to unite against what he described as U.S. “neocolonialism and imperialism,” insisting that Venezuela’s future must be determined without external interference.

See full statement below

Statement by Russian Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing on Venezuela, January 5, 2026

Mr. President,

First and foremost, we wish to congratulate you on your accession to the presidency of the Security Council. Second, we would like to welcome the newly elected members of the UNSC.

The beginning of this new year came as a shock to all those around the globe who cherished hopes that the key principles guiding the new US administration would be respect for international law and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, as well as reliance on diplomacy and search for compromise.

The assault against the leader of Venezuela, which was compounded by the deaths of dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban citizens, was seen by many as a harbinger of a return to an era of lawlessness and US domination by force, chaos and injustice, which continues to inflict suffering on dozens of countries in various regions of the world.

There is no justification for the crime cynically perpetrated by the United States in Caracas, nor can there ever be any.

We firmly condemn the act of armed aggression by the United States against Venezuela in breach of all norms of international law. Given the confirmed reports that the abducted President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his spouse are being held in the United States (and as of today, as we know, in New York), we call upon the US leadership to immediately release the legitimately elected president of an independent State and his spouse.

Any problems and contradictions between the US and Venezuela need to be resolved through dialogue. This is precisely what is enshrined in the UN Charter, but some countries, however, have started to invoke the goals and principles thereof selectively, depending on what suits them politically. Today, we are reaping the fruits of their recklessness and selectivity in matters related to respect for international law, which they equated with a so-called “rules-based world order.” Here is your rules-based world order, in all of its glory, and it horrifies even the staunchest Atlanticists!

Mr. President,

We extend our steadfast solidarity with the people of Venezuela in the face of external aggression. We fully support the policy of the Bolivarian Government’s geared towards protecting the national interests and sovereignty of the country.

Washington’s aggressive acts have already been condemned by many States and multilateral associations, including the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, and the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter. We hope that this international banditry will immediately be responded with an objective and comprehensive assessment in terms of international law, and various universal mechanisms of the UN and other multilateral formats will be brough into play. This process must not be affected by the recognition or non-recognition of Nicolas Maduro’s legitimacy by any given State or a group of States.

Therefore, unintelligible murmurings and attempts to avoid principled assessments by those who in other situations foamed at the mouth demanding that others comply with the UN Charter, seem particularly hypocritical and unseemly today. I hope you will recognize this and abandon your double standards without trying to justify such an egregious act of aggression for fear of infuriating the US “global gendarme” who is seeking to rear its head again.

We are particularly appalled by the unprecedented cynicism on the part of Washington, which does not even attempt to conceal the true objectives of its criminal operation, namely the establishment of unlimited control over Venezuela’s natural resources and assertion of its hegemonic ambitions in Latin America. In this way, Washington is generating fresh momentum for neocolonialism and imperialism, which have been repeatedly and decisively repudiated by the peoples of this region and the Global South as a whole.

Dear colleagues,

In the current situation, it is extremely important for the entire international community to stand united and definitively reject the methods and instruments of US military foreign policy, which were vividly demonstrated in the case of Venezuela. This is the only way to compel Washington to revisit its dangerous misconceptions and subsequently abandon them.

As we stated at the previous meeting on Venezuela, the bell now tolls across the region, ringing for every country of the Western Hemisphere. The bell is also ringing for all UN member States and for the future of the Organization itself. Failing to hear this today is tantamount to showing cowardice and the lack of principles, thus essentially blessing further encroachments on international law and simply rejecting civilized conduct in inter-state relations. The United States must not be allowed to proclaim itself as a kind of supreme judge, which alone bears the right to invade any country, to determine who is guilty, to hand down and enforce punishments, irrespective of such notions as international law, sovereignty and non-intervention. Is this the world we sought to create as we marked the 80th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Charter, when we all signed up to the relevant UNSC Presidential Statement? Is this the aim of the UN reform that we all advocate, or does it mean that the UN and the Security Council no longer exist today, and everyone needs to get a “license to rule” from Washington, with the will of each nation and their right to determine their future being rendered worthless?

These are the questions that we all need to answer today. And if give a sincere and principled answer, then, perhaps, the US leadership, which is now openly declaring its intention to run another country for the benefit of the United States, will take a glance at its own Constitution, starting with the words: “We, the people of the United States…”, and will begin to truly recognize the sovereignty of other States, rather than deposing inconvenient regimes.

Thank you